Conventional automobiles have had little variation in license plate support mechanisms since the inception of the automobile. The main license plate is attached to the rear of the vehicle, using two to four fasteners provided through the four standard spaced holes found in the plate. The fasteners used are usually flat head screws which engage either a large structure supported by the vehicle, or some accommodation on the auto body such as a plastic insert or threaded clip. Some users may also have a license plate frame which is also supported by the same fasteners which support the license plate to the vehicle. Whether or not a frame is used, in most cases, the heads of the screws are exposed directly. Exposed screws invite and facilitate the theft of the license plate. Theft of the licence plates can be a nightmare for the vehicle owner. The plates are likely to be used on a car involved in a crime or to facilitate the theft of another car. If a car owner's license plates are stolen, the likely result is unwanted investigation and inquiries by the police agencies. An owner driving a car from which the plates are stolen is likely to be pulled over multiple times for a single car trip, since missing plates are automatic probable cause justifying traffic detainment by police.
Ease of plate removal also makes the owner's vehicle a more attractive target for theft. Once another vehicle owner's plates have been stolen, an ideal target vehicle should also have the capability for rapid easy license plate removal and replacement with the stolen license plates.
Other motives for stealing license plates involves careful removal of the tax payment/registration indicator label. The tax payment/registration indicator or verification label technology has advanced making the labels harder to counterfeit and much more difficult to remove while in tact. The theory is that if a thief can obtain the tax verification label only by destroying it that theft can be deterred. The deterrence mechanism is to provide an adhesive much stronger than the strength of the verification label, so that attempted removal will result in multiple torn chips which are impossible to re-apply to the thief's tag. However, where a thief can obtain a whole rear tag, by simple removal with a screw driver in less than one minute, the tag can be either soaked in an appropriate solvent, or heated to bring the adhesive to sufficient liquification that the tag can be slowly and carefully removed. In any event, where the thief has the removed tag and much more time to work on separating the verification label, the benefits of the theft can be realized relatively easily. The use of the tax payment/registration verification label of someone else is not likely to be detected, even on a routine traffic stop. The serial numbers on the tax payment/registration verification label are often small, written in dark ink and difficult to read without close inspection. As a result, police officers rarely take the time to initiate an investigation on the validity of the tax verification label.
Automobile license plates are most vulnerable in parking lots, and especially long term airport lots where the automobile is left for an extended period of time in an area not closely attended. When parking in a private garage, or where the vehicle is stored in a home garage for an extended period of time it would be preferable from a security standpoint to remove the tags and place them in a secure locked surrounding. Any surrounding which is more secure, including the passenger compartment of the car, the car trunk, or the ultimate security which comes with taking the license plates with you. The vehicle might then be stolen only if the thieves had additional license plates, for if the car was stolen and driven away with no plates, there would be a high likelihood that it would be stopped by the police and have its ownership challenged.
Although standard license plate attachment configurations permit ease of removal of the license plates, the use of a screwdriver is still required, as well as some sitting, stooping or squatting for a some time. In addition, the automobile bumper and areas surrounding the tag may be not completely clean, and extended time spent leaning on the car rear areas, sitting or squatting on the ground, and all of the necessary effort and tools to removing the license plate are unpleasant and egregiously time consuming. Often, a state's motor vehicle department requires the turning in and replacement of vehicle license plates. The user must find a tool kit, go to the car and begin removing the screws holding the plate in place. The user then enters the building for the exchange and then must go back to the vehicle and replace the screws again securing the vehicle license plate.
A similar, but less onerous set of steps is necessary in order to replace the tax payment/registration verification label. It is ideally desired to clean the license plate, remove last years tax payment/registration verification label and replace it with this years label applied onto a clean smooth surface. The ability of the use of adhesives stronger than the structural integrity of the tax payment/registration verification label to deter theft depends upon the availability of a clean, smooth surface. The user must either use a screwdriver to remove the tag to enable the tag to be either brought indoors or otherwise positioned so that the old tax payment/registration verification label can be removed without damaging the surface. Otherwise, the user must spend more time around the attached license plate attempting to remove the tax payment/registration verification label without damaging the underlying surface. Additional time working around the vehicle translates into more opportunity for soiled clothes, tired back and more frustration. Removing the tax payment/registration verification label can be a slow process. In addition, when working with the license plate on the vehicle, other techniques like running hot water over the license plate to soften the adhesive are impractical.
What is therefore needed is a system which protects against theft of a vehicle license plate when the license plate is carried on the vehicle, and which provides an even higher degree of security when the license plate is removed from the vehicle, by facilitating the quick removal from and re-placement onto the vehicle to facilitate such high degree security removal. The needed system should assist in keeping the license plate clean and also invite careful and precise replacement of the tax payment/registration verification label which is typically issued every year. The system should assist in protecting the surface of the license plate. The system should also provide further protection from damage to the license plate. The needed system should include additional protection against theft and vandalism by increasing the strength and thickness of the design, as well as providing tamper resistant structures and spaces to isolate the locking mechanism.